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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Welcome to Travel Photo Thursday once again, and this week I thought we'd take a peek inside churches in Ethiopia.

Christianity in Ethiopia dates way back to the 1st Century AD, shortly after the early apostles spread out through the then known world preaching the new faith. Christianity became the state religion around 330AD, withstanding many later Islamic attempts to invade and convert the country, however being surrounded by Islamic cultures, its isolation saw it develop quite differently from mainstream Christianity in Europe. "Develop" is perhaps the wrong word to use there - it would be better to say that that the Coptic Christian Church that survived in Ethiopia may be closer to the roots, ceremonies and practices of early Christian beliefs whereas it is European based Christianity that changed.

Generally churches will be covered inside with pictures depicting bible scenes, and associated legends. The dark, almost airless interiors have protected the still brilliant colours. Here we see Adam and Eve depicted nude in the first, then covering in shame before expulsion from Eden.

An attendant guards a depiction of Saint George killing the dragon. This legend which we will be familiar with is strongly represented in every church. You are looking at paintings and carpets that may be hundreds of years old, perhaps over 1,000. Most early churches are rock cut - constructed by cutting the whole church into the cliffs.

Mary and baby Jesus.

That may be climbing Jacob's ladder.

Still brilliant colours after so many centuries. Many of these churches built around 1200Ad.

Hard time focusing in the gloomy interiors so many shots didn't turn out very well, but this is included to give a general idea of the interiors.

Not knowing the bible all too well, you'll have to leave comments about the scenes depicted here. I guess someone is a wee bit thirsty.

Travel Photo Thursday is on again where travel bloggers post up their great pics from around the world. Join us! Head over to Nancie'sBudget Traveler's Sandboxand post up your travel photo and link into the fun!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Stupidity of tourists confounds me at times! Their well-intentioned but ignorant actions may place themselves in danger without a care for themselves or anyone else!
Yeah, well look who's talking....

Poor qualty pics in this article but taken in 2001 on my first ever digital camera.

Ephesus, is a very popular attraction on the Turkey tourist route. Over 2,500 years old, the ruins of this main ancient Greek city, and later a major city in the Roman era, need time to explore. Ruins of the old amphitheatre, the Library of Celcus, and the stadium being the main sites and there are also remains of paved roads and village houses. Check out the history of Ephesus here- Ephesus

In January 2001, on a Cosmos 14 day tour, in the ruins of the amphitheatre our 34 member group were eyes-and-ears-on as our guide explained the history and features of the ruins, but I was distracted. There were dogs barking in the background, that distinctive bark or yelp that dogs give when in a pack worrying something: a helpless prey perhaps? It disturbed me so much I asked our guide to check it out, or for him to alert the locals to what could be a a need for help. None of the few local men responded. The dogs still yelped and barked.

I wasn't going to leave without seeing what could be done.

The amphitheatre is enormous and stretched high up the hillside. The photo below will give an idea of scale. The yelping and barking was echoing down from high above the top seats.

Amphitheatre at Ephesus.

I headed up the ancient stone steps, then climbed up the hillside. Took ages to get to where I found a pack of dogs worrying a lone sheep defending its newborn. The dogs were viciously attacking her, one rushing in to attract her attention, while others dashed in from her rear. She would fend of the attacking dog then wheel and charge the other dogs, then have to return to stand over her young lamb. Her attackers knew they could wear her down then make the kill. She was in dire trouble defending her newly born lamb, the umbilical and afterbirth still attached as it struggled to take its first steps.

Then the dogs saw me, and it hit me that I was no match for six fired up, hungry, snarling dogs. Strange how there is never a big knobbly, clubby branch when you need it most - they were up by the dogs. Even a short, sharp toothpick I'd have grasped at that moment. The sticks I desperately grabbed snapped with their dry brittleness. I guess all the big stones had been scoured from the hillside for the ruins I'd just left...I couldn't find any large rocks either! Ah well, bravado was called for. So I charged a mad snarling pack of dogs, yelling and making out I was throwing rocks...and they scattered.
Phew!

Mrs Sheep promptly allowed the lamb to suckle. The lamb seemed to be getting to grips with its legs which were as wobbly as mine. I kept my distance not wanting to distress her more, and grabbed a quick shot with my camera...that had just about been flung in desperation at a dog!

Mrs Sheep takes a break from the fray.

I hung around for maybe 10 minutes as a dog deterrent, hoping to give the lamb enough time to grab a feed, get to grips with its long gangly legs, and perhaps it would be able to run and keep up with mum!

Climbing down I realised how stupid I had been. Those dogs could have been wild and hungry enough to have stood their ground and taken me on. Rabies is one vaccination I have never bothered to get.

Would I do it again?

Yep! Every time. I can't bear to think of an animal in distress. But I would make sure I have a great big club! Better still a shotgun!

Back down with the tour group, it was time to get more pictures of the ruins. As Kay and I posed with our friends, the barking started up...the dogs had returned!

This time I prayed I had bought her enough respite from attack for her lamb to be able to scoot off with her. Maybe the dogs would find the afterbirth enough to keep them happy while mum and lamb got away?

Have you ever done anything that was downright dumb and life threatening?

Stadium at Ephesus.

We'd seen how dogs were poorly treated in Turkey. Emaciated and crippled strays hung around other sites and cities we'd been to...heartbreaking. Dogs don't have a great time in Islamic countries, being considered unclean, usually kept just as watch dogs or for protecting flocks. As in many countries, a dog gets injured or sick it may be abandoned, no money will be spent on treating it; cheaper to just get another pup. Left to breed freely there are so many strays having to scavenge any morsel they can find.We saw injured, crippled and starving dogs everywhere we went.

This was 10 years ago, and I guess we were not the only tourists to be so shocked: others have actually done something positive for the animals, and to help change local attitudes to animal welfare in parts of Turkey.

I admire the dedication of other tourists of that time who did this - www.animalprotectiontrust.org.uk Setting up a trust to care for Kusadasi's stray dogs and cats, many destined to be poisoned after the tourist season! Easier and cheaper to kill them horribly that way, than to cure the problem at its source by neutering or spaying to stop them breeding!

Charities like this need more support financially.

Anyone else know of reputable animal rescue organisations in Turkey, please leave their contact names in my comments, and I will research them and add them to this list.

Gee, I have great memories of Namibia and my times at Elephant-Human Relations Aid's project. This is one volunteer project that achieves a lot in the community, helps reduce conflict between humans and elephants, and extends and challenges those volunteers personally.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Playing around with my new Canon SX40HS Camera. Shoots up to 12 megapixels, although the below are at 9 megapixel. Getting used to the features, but I am very pleased with the detail and clarity at extreme 35 times optical focus.

Let's have a fun week. You are bound to have some quirky photos, know some quirky facts, or have photos of people or animals in strange moments: let's see them!

Things around here are a little quirky at the moment, but to tantalise and entertain you I have pulled out a few photos from our travels of quirky trees. Yep that's right - trees! The quirky kind!

Check these out.

As expeditionary tree-huggers, we had to hug this tree!

A place we had always dreamed about, Dead Vlei, Sossusvlei in Namibia is a dried up lake pan, formed when the nearby Tsauchab River receded as the climate changed and the surrounding massive sand dunes caused it to deviate. 1,000 year old camelthorn trees remain standing, the very dry environment arresting the decomposition process.

Dead Vlei is a spectacular photography opportunity, the skeletal weather-blackenedtrunks contrasting starkly against the towering reddish sand dunes topped with the most intense clear blue skies. It is weird seeing a whole valley of dead trees standing against the passage of time in such a bare but beautiful place.

The above photo won me a top 10 placing in a Tripadvisor Avatar competition...back when I was more active there and I used it as my avatar.

Not trees but this photo is so quirky! Solitaire, Namibia.

A quirky shower tree! Porcupine Ridge Guest Lodge, near Kruger Park, South Africa. The water flows through the trunk!

Quirky shapes of the Candelabra Euphorbia trees, found in many parts of Africa. This was taken in Ethiopia.

Bret Love reminded me about the quirkiest tree of all- the Baobab. Here we see the baobabs of Nxai Pans, Botswana, made famous by artist and explorer Thomas Baines' painting of 22nd May 1862. When we saw them I can assure you they haven't changed much in 150 years!

This has got to be the quirkiest baobab ever... and the saddest! Up near Broome, northern Western Australia, you'll find the Baobab Jail. This massively swollen ancient baobab bottle, being hollow inside was used to lock up prisoners, during the sad part of early Australian history when Aboriginal men were kidnapped for the mother-of-pearl diving industry. Captives from raids upon Aboriginal settlements inland were held here before continuing on their way to the luggers based in Broome, where they were forced to dive for the pearl shells. The mother-of-pearl shell was very important for combs, buttons, decorative inlays, etc, before the advent of plastics: pearls being a by-product. Today the revival of the industry there is due to the pearl itself, grown with modern techniques.

We're all aware of the quirky tree root covered ruins of Angkor Wat, Cambodia, but how about the root covered walls of the Fasilides' Baths at Gondar, Ethiopia? Looks like a crowd of partying spectators sitting with legs crossed watching the water sports!

Great Wall, China. Now that is the resilience of Nature!

This doorway made famous by Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider', the ruins of the temple complex of Angkor Wat are covered in quirky tree roots.

A quirky toilet tree! A perfect 'U' bend!Spotted squatting beside the road near Maun, Botswana. Definitely been squashed by an elephant when a young sapling.

All above photos I have taken on our travels. But this following one I came across while reading a site on the net.

photograph of the Crooked Forest by Maciej Sokolowski

Poland's quirky Crooked Forest.
Thought to have been done in the 1930's by humans wanting trees to grow with the grain for specific shapes for carpentry, young trees held down then forced to grow into curved shapes. I reckon escaped circus elephants crashed through the forest flattening these trees which then grew crooked! Quirky eh?

How's that for fun quirkiness? Let's see what quirky posts you can link in this week for a fun week.

Next week, our theme for Magnificent Monday, as we are entering the Christmas Season will be - 'Goodwill'.
An opportunity to highlight any article about charities, giving, joy of helping some one or whatever you choose as we enjoy the season of Goodwill, which in my life carries on all year round.

To join in this week's Magnificent Monday-

1. Paste your name and a link to your 'Quirky' article in the Mr Linky tool below.

2. Leave a comment to show you care.

3. It's good etiquette to edit into your article a reference to this article to let your readers know also.

4. Visit each post, leave a comment and share Stumble, Digg, Tweet and Facebook etc so we can all benefit.

Friday, November 25, 2011

{This Moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment from my week, or from thinking back on our travels. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Adopted from Soulemama. Drop in there and leave your link and comments also.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Yeah, OK we're not supposed to tell you about the pic, but talk about it in the comments, but sometimes it is just bursting out all over!

Song thrush mum with her daughter.
Been practising with my new Canon SX40is camera.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Let the splendour of the diamond, pearl and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow.Only let this one teardrop, the Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time... Rabindranath Tagore, noted Indian poet.

Yeah I know...every traveller to India has this photo! If you haven't been yourself you will still recognise this is the Taj Mahal, in Agra. It must be top of every traveller's bucket list to get there, and can't blame them - it truly is the most mind-bogglingly beautiful, and romantic place we have ever been.

These photos are taken on my old 3mp Sony digital in 2006 so not the greatest quality. But it's not the pictures of the Taj Mahal I want to show you, it's what a lot of travellers miss at the Taj. We spent 3 hours there, not wanting to leave, so headed around the rear and sat overlooking the river and watched the sun setting.

I like this scene: the river behind the Taj Mahal.

For me this pic sums up the calm, peaceful, reflective qualities of the Taj Mahal: Kay in the area at the rear where you can get away from the hordes, and just be at peace and soak up the whole ambience of Emperor Shah Jahan's memorial to his great love- his wife Mumtaz.

Travel Photo Thursday is on again where travel bloggers post up their great pics from around the world. Join us! Head over to Nancie'sBudget Traveler's Sandbox and post up your travel photo and link into the fun!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Hey guys, Bret Love of Green Global Travel has come up with this great idea so here's the a blurb about TRAVEL
BLOGGERS GIVE BACK.

TRAVEL BLOGGERS GIVE BACK!

You can copy the below post to your own site to encourage your
respective followers to participate. There are a lots who have expressed
interest. Feel free to use this or alter it however you like for
your site, and let us know once it's posted so we can spread via
FB/Twitter/etc.

The concept for Travel Bloggers Give Back is simple: We will
use our time and energy to convince as many travel bloggers as we possibly can
to post stories on their sites between now and Christmas Day about their
favorite charity organizations.

The goal?

To use the power of our collective
voice to convince our readers to give whatever they can to the charities
nearest and dearest to our hearts.

Want to take part? Here’s what you need to do:

1) Let Us Know You’re Participating

Leave a comment below or hashtag #TBGB on Twitter to let us
know you want to lend your voice to the cause. We will immediately put a link
to your website on our “Our Favorite Sites” page under a special Travel
Bloggers Give Back section (reciprocal links appreciated, but not a
requirement).

2) Post Something!

The story should include information about the charity’s
history, mission, what they use donations for, and why they’re personally
important to the blogger, with a link at the end to the donation page on the
organization’s website. We’ll be posting one charity spotlight per week between
now and Christmas, but every blogger can
do as many or as few posts as they want.

3) Spread the Love!

Share your stories via Facebook, StumbleUpon and Twitter
(making sure to hashtag #TBGB so everyone participating can see them). We will
promote every single TBGB post via *ALL* of our social networks, and ask
everyone participating to do the same.

Imagine the attention we could draw to various charitable
causes! Imagine the money we could help raise! Imagine the impact it could have
in establishing bloggers as people who care enough about this world we travel
to use our clout to help make it better! We think it will be win-win for
everyone involved, and very much in the spirit of holiday giving. Like the Whos
down in Whoville, let’s raise our collective voice to help start a Movement of
Giving!

Stop Press. We have set up a Facebook page here- www.facebook.com/groups
where you can register your article link. Members are asked to also share the links posted there as much as they can.

Monday, November 21, 2011

From Broome, Western Australia the Pigram Brothers jam at home under the mango tree!
These guys are great!

Now for a recording of the song my mate Reg and I got to really like on the Gibb River Road, Leg 10 of The Extraordinary Taxi Ride last year. Fantastic music to cruise along to in the 4WD taxi!
Great adventure, wonderful road crew, and fantastic scenery with bountiful wildlife!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Welcome along, join in as a few good friends have banded together to present an Action-packed Maginificent Monday Musical Tour for you all. Where are we going? Well, read on.

Let's start here - Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Barbara Weibel of Hole In The Donut Cultural Travels.http://holeinthedonut.com/caught my interest with an article on old time music on her site. I had watched the film "Songcatcher" that week (..again) and there was Barbara chatting about that very thing; the film is based upon the early attempts to record mountain music.

Barbara writes-

As the gateway to the Smoky Mountain National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee takes particular pride in preserving the history and culture of the Smokies. One of their more interesting efforts focuses on the music of the mountains, much of it originally brought over by Scottish and English immigrants. Centuries later this music was brought to light by “songcatchers,” who were astounded to discover that, due to the isolation of the mountains and the reclusiveness of its residents, the tunes and words had remained more pure than those being played in the British Isles by that time. Every night throughout the summer, the City of Gatlinburg sponsors musicians who roam the streets of downtown, performing for the tourists and explaining a bit about music and mountain lore. The program, aptly dubbed Tunes and Tales, features a wide variety of genres, including country, old time music, bluegrass, Americana, barbershop, and even cloggers who perform to “Rocky Top,” an ever-popular, if somewhat more recent addition to the musical retinue of the Smokies.

Music takes me places, and I take music from places; evens up as it's a give and take relationship. Music CDs I collect on our travels are better than photos as they are a constant reminder of those fascinating places and times we have enjoyed together travelling this big world. Load up the CD player in my workshop, hit 'Random Play' and I am travelling again... and the dog howls along also! She loves Mongolian throatsinging music...weird, the dog I mean.

Let's go to- Irkutsk, Russia.

The Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architecture near Irkutsk in the Russian Federation yielded a favourite musical CD. If you read that link you'll see some of the old wooden buildings transported for preservation at the village style museum. I investigated what I thought was the delicate sound of a harp coming from one of the fenced yards and saw a woman on the verandah playing a weird instrument. Most of our 25 strong group had gone past but a few followed me in to observe and listen.

This is Elena's CD cover.

Ever noticed how some people will walk past street performers ignoring them as if they aren't there?

So I stop and show some attention, and very soon others will also and a small crowd will form: as some leave others will join in.

Seems to need someone to break the ice.

I broke the ice for Elena Vyatkina by enjoying her performance. Others joined, including a group of youngsters. Her music was really very good, with a confident strong, clear voice and she played her heart out. The instrument, which could be described as a cross between a guitar and a harp, was plucked and at times lightly strummed. I think is called a Bombora. I bought her CD which initiated a few more sales. Elena had a smile for me as I reluctantly left to find the rest of our group.

This is poor quality video, taken on my Sony Cybershot back in 2006. Play it: you will like it.

Brasilia, Brazil: I sit in a heat induced haze in a cafe avoiding the midday sun. Brazilia was built in a savannah and therefore, is hot and dry. I drink the tea I didn’t ask for but was given because I’m foreign, and enjoy the cafe which has internet and a slight breeze over the terrace. A couple of young boys come up to me. They are filthy and have holes in their clothes. They talk quickly in Portuguese and when they realise I’m not Brazilian make gestures to their mouths saying they are hungry and want money. I feel miserable for them but only have enough money to pay for the tea I didn’t want. They disappear. Later I see them counting a hefty wad of notes and practicing back flips off the bank below. They are street performers and should get danger money. Traffic in Brasilia is manic and incredibly dangerous but when the light turns red these boys run in front of the cars and do back flips in hope of getting money. An older man approaches them and seems to be in charge they head for the road.

Still in Brasilia: It’s Brazil’s national day and a public holiday. It’s also being used as an opportunity to protest against corruption. Even to Brazilians Brasilia is notorious for it. It is the relatively new capital of the country and is where the government is based. We march wearing black down the Eixo Monumental and round a grove of palm trees. My friend and I head for the trees in search of some shade. There we find some tight rope walkers:

It's great to see street performers putting action onto the streets. Life wouldn't be the same without them.

Bret Love from Green Global Travels would love to show you the action packed streets of St Kitts, that wee island in the Caribbean so head over here for the next part of our tour! A MOMENT OF ZEN IN ST. KITTS’ BUSTLING PORT

Story by Bret Love

To join in this week's Magnificent Monday-

1. Paste your name and a link to your 'Action' article in the Mr Linky tool below.

2. Leave a comment to show you care.

3. It's good etiquette to edit into your article a reference to this article to let your readers know also.

4. Visit each post, leave a comment and share Stumble, Digg, Tweet and Facebook etc so we can all benefit.

Port Zante is hardly the sort of place you’d expect to find a
nature-loving guy like me. Located in the bustling heart of St. Kitts’ capitol
city, Basseterre, the port is the entryway for thousands of tourists virtually
every day, disembarking from their massive cruise ships in order to spend a few
hours dipping their toes as delicately as possible into the waters of Caribbean
culture.

Let’s face it, the place is a total tourist trap– a third-world
shopping mall designed to draw first-world dollars. Europeanized shops selling
duty-free crap nobody needs sparkle with the shine of homogeneity. Streetwise
entrepreneurs peddle an opportunity to take photos with the Vervet monkeys that
have become a nuisance in the nation’s vast rainforest, practically thrusting
the diaper-clad primates into your arms before you can say no, then demanding
$10US for their troubles. And everywhere there are tacky souvenirs, most more
than likely made in China.

Like all tourist havens, there are treasures to be found here. The National Museum
offers an engaging overview of the tiny island’s history, with exhibits tracing
its heritage back to the early Arawak and Carib inhabitants, through the years
of colonialism and slavery, and up to its independence from England in 1983.
But despite its low-key charms, I could’ve counted the total number of tourists
we saw during our hour at the museum on one hand, and most of those were only
there to visit the gift shop.

Fortunately we found our moment of Zen on a quiet side street, near the
St. Kitts Board of Tourism office. There, away from all the hustle and bustle
amongst a small stretch of vendors hawking their wares in an open-air market,
we found a 5-man band playing acoustic music that reeked of island-borne
authenticity.

The quintet was dressed almost identically– slacks or jeans, faded
tie-dye T-shirts with “St. Kitts” printed on them in simple fonts, old baseball
caps with the brims pulled down to shield their eyes from the glaring midday
sun. They were clearly working, with their Tip Box placed a few feet in front
of them as they strummed their guitars, clanged their triangle and sang simple
harmonies for the occasional passers-by. But it wasn’t difficult to imagine
them hanging out on the beach just down the road, drinking a few beers and
singing the songs that had been passed down for generations.

These simple but potent island folk songs are known by many different
names, but the most well known is mento, the traditional Caribbean music that
predated ska and reggae. A fusion of African and European musical influences,
mento’s roots can be traced back to the 19th century. It’s sometimes
confused with the similar-sounding calypso, but lacks the Spanish elements of
that Trinidadian sound (it didn’t help matters that Harry Belafonte’s classic
hits “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell” were really mento
songs sold as calypso).

Like the blues and country music in America, mento in the Caribbean
(especially Jamaica, where it originated) was the rural music of the common
man, used to accompany everything from daily work to special celebrations. The
lyrics commented on daily life, ranging from poverty and other social issues to
downright lascivious sexual innuendo. In the 1950s, artists such as Lord Flea,
Lord Fly and Louise Bennett popularized the form, with Belafonte making it
famous. Though it was eventually eclipsed by reggae and dancehall music,
Jamaican mento bands such as the Jolly Boys remain popular today.

Listening to this anonymous band on a quiet side street in one of St.
Kitts’ most popular tourist spots, I found myself transported for quite some
time. The cruise ship passengers, aggressive hucksters and tacky souvenirs
faded from my mind, replaced the sounds of the soul of the Caribbean. Like the
National Museum, these five musicians were a taste of the island’s history, and
their music a treasure that deserves to be preserved for future generations.

Bret
Love is the co-founder of Green Global Travel, a web-based magazine devoted to
ecotourism, wildlife conservation and the preservation of global culture. He’s
also a veteran freelance writer with 18 years of experience whose work has
appeared in more than 50 publications spanning the globe. VisitGreenGlobalTravel.com
for
more info. You can also find Green Global Travel onFacebook, Twitter&;YouTube.

{This Moment}- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment from my week, or from thinking back on our travels. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Adopted from Soulemama. Drop in there and leave your link and comments also.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Yeah, OK we're not supposed to tell you about the pic, but talk about it in the comments, but sometimes it is just bursting out all over!

We managed to convince the triffids we are friendly, so they have decided to put on a wee splendiferous show for us; sort of like early Christmas trees!

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About Me

A custom shoemaker, slowly wearing out his tools. No sign of slowing down for this not so young traveller, but sometimes I just have to take time out to repair my worn out soles. They've been around, and it's time to talk of where they've been. Join us in our journeys, we'll learn more about wildlife conservation and social issues around this world, and maybe delve beyond the conscious